Sing for Joy

I have been spending time in meditation on Psalm 63:1-8 recently. The editors of the New Revised Standard Version give it the title Comfort and Assurance in God's Presence. It begins with unquenchable desire for God, then moves to satisfaction of that desire, which, in turn, leads to joy. A major difference between Buddhism and Christianity is their different attitudes toward desire. For a Buddhist desire is the source of suffering in the world and the goal is to rid oneself of desire. For a Christian desires are God-given and therefore a good part of the creation, but because of the fall our desires have become broken and warped both in their direction and intensity. To be rightly ordered, all of our desires must be subordinate to the basic desire for God. As the psalmist writes, "O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water." Only God can satisfy this thirst, and when we drink deeply from this fountain, we experience joy: "for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy." I hope that you and I are able to sing for joy in the shadow of God's wings today.